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Drawing: Suranne Jones in Beautiful Thing and Orlando

Currently back on the London boards in Bryony Lavery’s psychological thriller FROZEN at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Suranne Jones plays Nancy, a grieving mother who faces her child’s killer. It’s a performance that Michael Billington described as ‘riveting’ in his four-star review for The Guardian.

Suranne is no stranger to critical acclaim, mostly from her TV appearances. After her prominent role as Karen McDonald in the iconic British soap, CORONATION STREET (2000-2004), her breakthrough came as convicted killer Ruth Slater in the mini-series UNFORGIVEN in 2009, followed by five years as detective Rachel Bailey in SCOTT & BAILEY then GP Gemma Foster in DOCTOR FOSTER, which won her a TV BAFTA and two National Television Awards.

Her last two stage appearances received equal acclaim, playing single mum Sandra in the comedy BEAUTIFUL THING at the Arts Theatre in the West End and the epoch-hopping title role in Sarah Ruhl’s adaption of Virginia Woolf’s novel ORLANDO at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.

Arriving at the Theatre Royal stage door on a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon she happily stopped and chatted to the waiting few, commenting on the irony of the play’s title and the chilly climate and signing autographs, including this montage sketch.